‘We’re operating at scale’: A look at Konduit.me’s recent growth

Konduit.me closed out 2019 strong.

The Brewers Hill-based company, which makes technology to help ensure video ads start and run at the right time, has customers in all of the world’s regions.

“We’re operating at scale now,” said David Jacobs, the CEO of the two-year-old company. “In Q4 we were processing upwards of 400 million requests per day at our peak.”

The company’s technology gets at a nagging problem in video advertising: Jacobs said the ads don’t properly load 40% of the time. It could be too slow, so a user abandons the page. Or there could be a technical issue. Konduit.me’s product addresses that, which, in turn, helps publishers and content creators make more revenue. It also works with brands and agencies. The product works across desktop, mobile and OTT, the latter of which refers to a service that delivers TV over the internet.

In 2020, the company will continue to invest in developing its technology to add more tools, and is working to make sure the product is “future-proof.”

“Video advertising and adtech in general tends to constantly change,” he said. “What we’ve really focused on is making sure that our technology works along with those changes.”

Konduit, which was ranked #2 on Technical.ly Baltimore’s RealLIST Startups in 2019, has fresh funding to do so: To end 2019, the company closed on $600,000 in new investment, Jacobs said. Along with existing investors, a Baltimore-based venture firm was among those who participated.

Early Light Ventures was formed by Scott Garber, Sam Diener and Greg Cangialosi. The firm looks to invest in B2B software companies at the seed stage. It has a special preference for the Mid-Atlantic, and in the case of Konduit, recognized an opportunity to be the first Baltimore investor to back the company.

Early Light saw a live product and early revenue, said Garber, who is managing partner at the firm. And as with many early-stage investors, it was also Konduit’s team that made a difference in Early Light’s decision.

It’s a 10-person team that’s led by Jacobs, who brings previous experience as an executive with Baltimore darling Advertising.com, and later AOL following its 2004 acquisition. He’s brought on talent from Baltimore’s community like VP of Platform Operations Andrew Petroka, who previously worked at video advertising firm Videology. That offers not just knowledge of building and scaling advertising technology, but also the industry.

“That is about as good a team as you’re going to get,” Garber said.